December 23, 2012 08:27 PM CSTDecember 24, 2012 01:55 AM CSTCowlishaw: Cowboys miss opportunities against Saints, but lucky break means they may not pay for it

Cowlishaw: Cowboys miss opportunities against Saints, but lucky break means they may not pay for it

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Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer

Dallas defender Morris Claiborne (24) forces a fumble by Saints receiver Marques Colston (12), which careened inside the Dallas five yard line, where the Saints recovered and kicked the game-winning field goal to win 34-31 during the New Orleans Saints vs. the Dallas Cowboys NFL football game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on Sunday, December 23, 2012.

ARLINGTON — The Cowboys won the only coin toss that mattered Sunday. That was the second one, the one that came after 60 minutes of football and 62 points and 942 yards of total offense.

The Cowboys won the toss, got the ball … and punted after moving 16 yards. Say all you want about the manner in which the Saints answered with a field goal — how replay officiating is as maddeningly inconsistent as the potency of this Dallas offense — but the fact is that the Saints did what just about everyone in the crowd of 92,570 thought they would do.

The Saints’ 34-31 victory left Dallas puzzling over a replay ruling and wondering about their playoff future, although the latter would soon be resolved in their favor.

“The officiating is the officiating,” coach Jason Garrett said. “Ultimately we didn’t get it done. When you play against an offense like this, you can’t give them any freebies.”

And when you play against the NFL’s 32nd-ranked defense — yes, I know the Saints shut out Tampa Bay last week, but they gave up 52 to the Giants the week before — you really shouldn’t punt six times. And you really can’t fumble inside your own 5-yard line, either.

But before we can do any serious scolding of a Dallas offense that should have been more consistent even while piling up gaudy numbers Sunday, guess what? The Cowboys got a freebie of their own.

The New York Giants continued their December disappearing act, losing at Baltimore 33-14 and leaving the door to the NFC East wide open for the winner of Sunday’s Dallas-Washington game.

After all that went down Sunday, the Cowboys lost nothing more than wild-card hopes that were rather shaky to start with. They can’t be a wild-card team now. But if they can end the Redskins’ six-game winning streak, the Cowboys — crazy as this sounds — will be right back home on the weekend of Jan. 5-6 hosting a first-round playoff game.

At this holiday season, we should pause to thank the Cowboys for playing the NFL’s most entertaining games. I didn’t say best games. I said entertaining and, lately, that has meant wildly entertaining.

Here are the Cowboys’ last six weeks:

Beat Cleveland by three in overtime. Lost to Washington by seven when Dez Bryant’s hand came down out of bounds on the final play. Beat Philadelphia by five. Beat Cincinnati by one. Beat Pittsburgh by three in overtime. Lost to New Orleans by three in overtime.

The Cowboys don’t have enough healthy bodies on defense to stop opponents with any degree of regularity. Already short at nose tackle and inside linebacker and safety, the Cowboys even lost DeMarcus Ware for a stretch against the Saints.

Can the most frustrated Cowboys fan direct his anger at Michael Coe for a missed tackle? At Brady Poppinga for an untimely interference call? At Charlie Peprah for not containing all-pro tight end Jimmy Graham?

It was the Cowboys offense that squandered missed opportunities Sunday. DeMarco Murray’s second fumble in as many weeks — this one at the Dallas 5-yard line — gift-wrapped a touchdown for Drew Brees. The big plays the Cowboys delivered once they were down 14 with five minutes to go could have materialized much sooner with some higher-risk play calls.

And I think the Saints nearly handed Dallas a trip to overtime with a fourth-and-1 punt from their own 35 with 1:45 left in regulation. I don’t think for a minute Sean Payton would have given the ball away there. A handoff to Darren Sproles or a quick slant from Brees would have ended the game with Dallas out of timeouts.

Instead, the Saints gave Tony Romo the chance to drive Dallas 64 yards in 1:30. Romo’s fourth touchdown pass in a 416-yard afternoon sent the game to overtime.

The coin toss that followed should have ended it. But the Cowboys managed just one first down before Romo and Dez Bryant, who approached wide receiver record levels with his two-touchdown, 224-yard day, failed to connect on a third-down pass.

You can argue just how much referee Walt Coleman’s interpretation of a catch helped the Saints seal the win. Keep in mind that even with a reversal, the Saints would have faced third-and-9 at the Dallas 33. A longer field goal from Garrett Hartley would have ended the game as well.

Somehow the Cowboys wake up today breathing fresh air with a rookie quarterback standing between them and a playoff berth. Yes, it’s a very special rookie quarterback.

But if the Cowboys can avoid a sweep by Robert Griffin III, a Cowboys team filled with flaws and excuses and yet somehow a remarkable ability to stay alive will be playoff bound.

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About Tim Cowlishaw

Tim Cowlishaw has been The Dallas Morning News' lead sports columnist since July 1998. Prior to that he covered the Cowboys for six seasons and the Stars for three as a beat reporter. He also covered the Rangers as a backup beat writer and was the San Jose Mercury News' beat writer on the San Francisco Giants in the late 1980s.

Tim has been appearing regularly on ESPN"s "Around the Horn" since the show made its debut in November 2002. He also worked with ESPN as part of the network's "NASCAR Now" coverage in 2007-08.

Favorite Dallas restaurants: Park, Nick and Sam's, Kenichi.

Worst sports prediction: His first in college ... that Earl Campbell had no shot at the Heisman Trophy.

Best sports memories: Seeing the Dallas Stars hoist the Stanley Cup long after midnight in Buffalo, watching the Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl and Texas win the national title in perfect Rose Bowl settings.